----- Original Message ----- From: "BlindNews Mailing List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, May 25, 2007 5:13 PM Subject: Colors of darkness
> Turkish Daily News, Turkey > Saturday, May 05, 2007 > > Colors of darkness > > By BADE GÜRLEYEN > > ISTANBUL - Tempo Magazine > > Eþref Armaðan, a Turkish painter, has been blind since his birth. He has > never seen the green of a tree, the red of a rose or the blue of the sky. > He has always wondered what the world looks like and has learned it > through the paintings he himself created. "I see now. Painting has shown > me the world," says Armaðan. > > Mr. Armaðan, 54, does not use a brush while he is painting. He touches and > feels the nature and reflects it to the canvas by using his fingers. > Armaðan has been painting since the age of 12. He is the winner of > numerous awards both in Turkey and abroad, including the United States, > China and Europe. An American friend of Armaðan, Joan Eröncel, introduced > him to the world. Eröncel, whom Armaðan met in 1994, says that he is a > genius. "The only Turkish painter whose pieces are exhibited in the Museum > of Modern Art and Metropolitan Museum in New York is Eþref Armaðan. He is > the pride of Turkey." > > Armaðan has no academic qualification in arts. However, he can draw famous > architectural artworks from different perspectives. We admired his "finger > prints" on the canvas. > > Married with two children, Armaðan is living in Ankara. Blind from the > birth, Armaðan became curious about his environment at the age of six. > "For instance," he says, "I thought watermelons grow on trees, but they > are on the ground." He learned the names and colors of everything in the > environment and memorized them. "I had the freedom to examine objects in > my hand," added Armaðan. > > "When we were together with friends, I asked them to describe the scenery > for me." At the age of 12-13, Armaðan thought, "I wonder if I can draw > everything that I have asked about?" then he examined reliefs, learned the > shapes of houses, mountains and trees. "I placed cardboard under the > photographs in newspapers and asked people to use a hard pencil and draw > them for me. After I checked them with my fingers, my brain started to > sense them. I learned all colors and shapes and memorized them." > > When Armaðan was 12, he started by drawing by pencil. His first drawing > was a butterfly. Later he switched to oil painting. However, he did not > use brushes. "If you are blind you do not understand if you are dipping > the brush in the paint or if it has enough paint on, or if you paint the > canvas. So, I started painting by my fingers. I have never seen the colors > but I learned to use them," Armaðan explained. > > After oil painting, Armaðan started painting with acrylic. The painter > who had no vision and only an elementary school diploma became the subject > of a research project at Harvard University in the United States. Armaðan > went to the States as the guest of Professor John M. Kennedy. "I was > placed in MR equipment for seven hours. They let me paint and examined my > brain afterwards. They did not believe the results and started to cry. It > is revealed that, to the contrary of other individuals with no vision, my > visual memory works like that of a normal, healthy individual," Armaðan > tells about his journey to the U.S. > > The pride of Turkey has painted over 700 pieces so far and opened > approximately 25 exhibitions abroad. Turkish Presidency granted him a > golden plate as a prize for his achievements. > > Admitting that painting keeps him going, Armaðan says that although he is > blind he is able to see the world through his paintings. "I cannot say > that I don't see because painting has shown me the world." Armaðan's late > father was his biggest backer and used to support him saying "Don't you > ever quit painting. Someday, you will surprise everyone and the whole > world will hear about your success," Armaðan remembers. > > "And it did really happen. No matter what obstructs you, there is always > something one can do about it." > > On the footsteps of Brunelleschi - with no vision > > They took me to a square in Italy. Professor Kennedy from Harvard was > there too. We were standing in front of the artwork of the Italian > architect Filippo Brunelleschi who lived 600 years ago and invented the > three-way perspective. They gave me five minutes to examine the model of > the building. Then, they told me, "You will draw an image of this piece by > viewing from the front, the rear and from the top," described Armaðan. > After I drew the three-perspective piece, I heard Professor Kennedy > crying. He said, "Today is a historic day. Brunelleschi drew the three-way > perspective for the first time 600 years ago. The first man with no vision > drawing with the same perspective is Eþref Armaðan." > > > http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=72370 > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > -- > BlindNews mailing list > > To contact a list moderator about a problem or to make a request, send a > message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > The BlindNews list is archived at: http://GeoffAndWen.com/blind/ > > To address a message to all members of the list, send mail to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Access your subscription info at: > http://blindprogramming.com/mailman/listinfo/blindnews_blindprogramming.com > > To unsubscribe via e-mail: send a message to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word unsubscribe in either > the subject or body of the message > Send instant messages to your online friends http://in.messenger.yahoo.com To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. 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